“The messages to the seven churches establish a context in which readers of Revelation can ponder the meaning of the visions that will unfold in the next chapters. We have seen that those who were first addressed by the book faced issues ranging from persecution, to assimilation, to the complacency that arises from prosperity… The promises that were made at the end of each message are not forgotten in the visions that follow but points us to the final chapters of Revelation, when the faithful find everlasting life in the New Jerusalem.” – Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things, 73-74